Dancing on Your Grave
by Madame Band Geek
Summary: AU Rachel is killed one morning, and finds out that she wasn't supposed to die. To fix this, she is given a duty to watch over and protect Garfield Logan who doesn't paticularly like this. But, with the forces of darkness after your soul, who would? BBRAE
1. Chapter 1

Dancing On Your Grave

Chapter One

Hey, everyone. This is me, with yet again another story idea. When I should be focusing on Different. And Going to the Dogs. And Pitch Blackness. And-

Well, you get the genral idea.

I don't own the Teen Titans...

_Thoughts, or, if noted, a flashback. In the first instance it is used as a prologue._

_

* * *

_

_Rachel ran thorough the house, breathing hard and fast. Her black hair fanned out behind her, as her hand, with purple painted nails, gripped the doorknob. She wrenched the door open, hearing the footfalls behind her._

_She dragged a chair over and set it against the door, hoping, and praying, that it would hold. She sank to the floor, adrenaline still pumping through her. She shook, the footsteps closer now._

_She could smell the alcohol n-_

BAM.

_The door shuddered. _

BAM.

_The whole room shook._

CRASH

_The door fell in, the chair spinning away and whacking her across her side. Dragged upwards by her hair, she kicked and screamed. Rachel screamed his name, cursing him and demanding to be let go. _

_He ordered her silent._

_She screamed, only louder this time._

_Please, someone, hear me!_

_He lashed out at her._

…crunch…

_She gasped in pain, clutching a broken hand. Vodka now gagged her senses, heavy on his breath. She rasped for air, choking on the stench._

_Now, still with the broken hand, she fought for control. She lost._

_She felt pain exploding in her chest. A shattered rib. _

_She stumbled through the hallway, hearing him coming closer. And closer…and closer…_

_Help! Somebody! Anybody! …help…_

_She tripped and fell. He dragged her upwards, she almost losing her balance and tumbling down the stairway._

_A push…_

_A falling sensation…_

_Falling, tumbling, down._

_Cheek hits wood and it tastes like blood._

_Spinning._

_Injuring._

_Then black. _

Three thousand miles away, Garfield Logan awoke with a start.

* * *

He glanced at the clock, and found it to be 2am. 

_5am on the east coast, _he thought absently. He shuddered, chills passing through him. Something horrible must have happened, though he had no idea what it was.

_Stop it. You're being childish. _

More chills flooded him, that horrible feeling intensifying.

_Gar! Stop it! It's all in your head. All in your fake, phony, foolish head! _

His parents died when he was eight. He was there; he could have said something, anything, to warn them, but…

_There's no use reflecting on the dead! _

Now sixteen, and having been around the foster care system numerous times, he had been settled here, in California, for three years.

He knew that Jodi and Mitch, his newest addition to his so-called family, cared a lot, but he felt an absence, something was missing.

Even these days, his girlfriend, Tara Markov, seemed distant.

_She pays more attention to Xander! She probably doesn't like you anymore. She doesn't CARE. She hates you. _

He closed his eyes, trying to shut up the negative voice in his head. He did, but its ugly presence hung like a black cloud in his mind. He tried to sleep.

Eventually, he did.

_**

* * *

**_

Rachel regained consciousness a few moments later. But something was wrong.

Everything seemed brighter. Every feature jumped out at her, the corners sharper and the rounded edges softer. Things were also more colorful.

_Well, I did hit my head pretty hard, _she reasoned.

And on that note, she couldn't feel her head, or even anything, for that matter.

_Paralyzed? _

"C'mon girl, breathe!"

She turned her head.

Paramedics were standing over someone, and an EMT was giving CPR to some poor person.

"Breathe, dammit, I don't want to lose you. Breathe, please, breathe."

She leaned over their shoulders, expecting to be yelled at. But no one did; no one even noticed her.

As soon as she saw the person, she knew why she couldn't feel anything.

She was watching herself getting CPR.

Her short black hair was spilled across her shoulders and over part of her face. A trim figure lay halfway up the stairs and halfway on the landing. A thin hand looked oddly mangled. A tank top was twisted around, and the long pajama bottoms were torn and dirty.

Rachel noticed that she, actually, was very pretty.

The EMT sadly checked his watch.

"Time of death… 5:37am."

_Time of death? I'm dead? Dead? Deaddeaddeaddead._

Anguish streaked through her mind.

_I-I'm a statistic! A teenage death statistic! _

Suddenly, denial took its hold.

_No. I'm dreaming. I'm not dead. I. Am. Not. Dead. Not dead, not dead. No. Nononononono! _

While she was lost in the horrifying hold of angst, a _s_udden change in pressure was evitable. Her ears rang, and a buzzing sound erupted. Rachel turned.

Long blonde hair. Green eyes. A white dress, with trumpet bell sleeves, a long flowing skirt. The edges were lined with black. It carried itself with an ancient elegance, tall and proud. It looked young, seeming to be around fourteen or fifteen. It spoke.

"Hi! You're Rachel, right?"

The voice didn't fit.

"Who-who're you?"

It smiled.

"I'm the Angel of Death, the Bringer of Death, Morrigan, a banshee; I can go by any name. But call me Serena, please."

Rachel nodded dumbly. Yet, one odd question kept repeating in her mind.

"So…why are you dressed like that?"

Serena grinned, and closed her eyes. Instantly, her hair was parted on the side, yellow-colored glasses went over her eyes. Power beads and peace sign necklaces were then hung around her neck. A tie-dyed halter top and jeans bell-bottoms replaced the dress. White Go-Go boots also appeared.

"I know, this is sooo much cooler, right?"

_A '60's hippie Grim Reaper. I MUST be dreaming. _Rachel thought wildly.

"Here's the story. You're dead, and I'm supposed to lead you to your next stage. Which now, is Saint Peter's station. Let's go."

Rachel glared hatefully at her father- her murderer. He was standing next to her, faking shock, and fabricating some lie to the police. Somehow, he'd make the murder charge fall on someone else. He'd walk away, free.

Glaringintesensly at him, she spat:

"One day, somehow, someway, _Karma will get you_."

_**

* * *

Serena faced the rising sun. "We'll be leaving right…about…now."**_

Before she had a change to ask where, Rachel felt like she was set in a slingshot and sent upwards. It felt dizzying, and quite exhilarating.

"Welcome to heaven, Rachel!"

A horde of people were milling about. Some seemed normal, and others definitely didn't look earthly. Rachel looked, and she saw buildings of all kinds, and in the distance, huge golden gates beckoned.

Serena saw her looking, and smiled. "No, you're not going there yet. First, we have to go to Saint Peter, and you'll get a task."

"A task?"

"Yes, a task. I don't know what it is yet, but I have an idea…" Serena rapped her knuckles on a door to a smaller building.

"Hey, Pete, open up! Someone's here to see you!"

The door swished open mechanically, and a very frazzled looking man sat behind a desk piled high with papers, folders, and empty coffee cups.

He looked up. "Welcome, Rachel. I'm Saint Peter, but you can call me Peter for now. I'm tiered of people dropping to their knees and worshipping me. It gets tiring after a few thousand years."

Peter stuck out his hand to shake. Rachel eyed it, and said, "Aren't you supposed to open the gates of heaven and play bugles or something?"

He laughed. "No, that's superstition. You can open the gates of heaven yourself, but only after you've completed your task."

_All this talk about my task, and I've still got no idea what it is. _She thought, a little worriedly.

"And what would my task be?"

"We're not going to tell you yet." Peter said, as he entered her name in the computer.

There was a momen't pauseaseverything uploaded.

"No, that can't be right."

Rachel's heart jumped. Was she not supposed to be here, but in...

Peter looked up at her with a peculiar expression. "You weren't supposed to die."

"Huh?"

Peter shook his head, wondering. "The fall wasn't supposed to kill you. Instead, a neighbor was going to call 9-1-1, the police would find you, and you'd be taken away. From there, you'd be sent to California with the foster care system."

"And," Serena continued, "You'd meet someone who'd become very, very important to you. And Pete, I think that this should be her task anyway. She was going to save him in life, so why can't she in death?"

Peter nodded his head.

"I'm confused." Rachel stated. "This is too much. What's going on?"

Serena smiled, and handed her a manila folder. Rachel opened it.

A small picture of a teenage boy was on top. "Garfield Logan, age 16" was written across the bottom in smaller letters.

"You're going to be a Guardian Angel." Peter said. "Your task is to keep Garfield alive. He is…one of the ones that we worry about up here."

Rachel wondered why, just for a moment. But then, it hit her.

"He's suicidal, isn't he?"

Serena nodded sadly. "Yeah, and now you're just the one to help him. Since you were supposed to help him in life, now you can as a Guardian Angel."

"And," Peter added, "If you succeed, you couldbe brought back to life."

As she read through some of the papers, Rachel wondered what she had gotten herself into.

_**

* * *

**_

Serena led her to the back part of Saint Peter's Station.

"Shhh, don't tell anyone, but this is where I get my clothes." Serena grinned, and steered her towards the clothing racks.

After a few minutes, Rachel emerged, wearing black satin-like pants, with numerous pockets. Her shirt was black, but with green stripes running diagonally down across it. She was still barefoot.

Serena added a gold chain belt, and black platform sneakers.

"Am I ready to go?" Rachel asked, admiring herself in the mirror.

"Not yet. Turn around and trust me."

Rachel did as she asked, a little puzzled. Serena placed her hands between her shoulder blades, and slid her hands down a little past there. For a moment, nothing happened.

There was pain. It spread all throughout her back, and next it swept through her body. And then it stopped, silence ringing in the air.

Then, something started up again.

The most accurate way to describe it is, something was _growing _out of Rachel's back. Serena's hands then left her back, and Rachel yelled.

She arched her back, feeling something ancient and exhilarating stretch. It unfurled into the air, power coming with it. A softness brushed her cheek. She opened her eyes and gasped.

_Wings. _

Rachel had black wings. In addition, her hair was cut short at an odd angle, and it was now purple.

"Oh, one more thing. Your name is now to be Raven. Okay?"

Rachel, now renamed Raven, nodded.

Serena looked at her approvingly. "Let's go. We don't have much time."

_**

* * *

**_

Serena rushed her to an odd-looking door.

"C'mon, hurry!" Raven's arm was nearly yanked out of her socket as Serena pulled her towards it.

"Open the door when I tell you to."

Raven nodded.

Serena punched in a few numbers in the number pad, and the door whirred to life.

"You're going right to Gar's house. If you have any trouble, call Jinx. She'll help you through."

"Who's Jinx?" Raven yelled back, the noise growing louder.

Raven couldn't hear her answer, because the next thing she knew, the door flew open, and she was flying through it. She was flying facedown, facing the ground.

The next thing she saw was a house.

Then a roof.

Then a ceiling.

_A FLOOR!_

With a smashing entrance, which dumped her literally from the ceiling, Raven crashed-landed into Gar's bedroom.

A boyish form stirred in bed, and then quickly shot up. A face glared at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

For the first time, Raven stared face-to-face with Garfield Logan.

And he was not happy.

**_

* * *

_**

I know a lot of you are going to ask.I _am_ Catholic.

Okay, I know this is weird… but review, please!


	2. Chapter 2

Dancing on Your Grave

Chapter Two

Heh, I forgot to mention this.

Rated T for: Violence, frequentlanguage, angst, references to suicide, occasional abusive situations, some scary instances, and maybe tragedy, if I feel like it.

_ A boyish form stirred in bed, and then quickly shot up. A face glared at her. _

"_Who the hell are you?"_

_ For the first time, Raven stared face-to-face with Garfield Logan._

_ And he was not happy._

_**

* * *

**_

"I said, who the hell are you?"

Raven was a bit too shocked to speak.

His face hardened. "Do I have to repeat myself? I said, who the f-"

"I'm dead."

He laughed humorlessly. "No, you can't be. You're some robber or pervert or something. And you're break- hey, are those wings?"

Raven stood up, now becoming annoyed with him. "Yeah, they are. And let's get some things straight. My name is Raven. I am dead. And I don't like being disrespected. Is that too hard for you?"

Gar's face twitched. "No." He answered shortly. "And, while we're on the subject, my name is Gar, and I am alive."

Raven's face twitched also. She _really _didn't like this kid.

"Well, listen, _bucko,_" She began, momentarily surprised that she actually said 'bucko', "My job is to watch over you. And this. Starts. Now."

"Pffft." Gar made an uninterested noise. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." He flopped back down and pulled the covers over his head.

"Haven't you ever heard of _school_?"

Gar retorted, from beneath the covers, "School sucks. They all hate me. Nobody likes me, and as far as I'm concerned, everyone can go screw themselves."

Though 'screw' was not the word he used.

Raven walked over, though it felt a bit weird with her wings, wrenched the covers away from Gar, and threw them on the floor.

"You. Get up. **_Now_**." If Raven had the ability, she may have been sprouting fire from her nostrils.

"No!"

"Yes, you insolent piece of baggage, NOW!"

And with that, Raven ferociously tugged him off his bed and onto the floor.

"WHAT THE F-"

"Gar?"

A female voice sounded from down the hall. "Gar, are you alright, sweetie?"

In an instant, hurt, annoyance, and longing washed over his face. But then, it hardened. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said shortly.

"I heard a noi-"

"_I said I'm fine!_"

All the while, Raven had been watching him. And she was a bit floored. These people… they loved him, they would do anything for him! And he was an ungrateful little-

"Are you gonna keep staring at me like that?"

His tone was smirky.

"Yeah, I am." Something unknown ignited inside of Raven, and she burst. "You're so ungrateful! You should be worshipping the ground your foster parents walk on! They _love _you, and yet you refuse to see it!"

"They're not my-" Gar stopped, questioning; "Did you call them my foster parents?"

"Yeah, I did. And _furthermore-_"

"But how did you know that they were?" His voice wavered somewhere between demanding, pissed, and amazed.

Raven sighed wearily. It had been a long day, and it was hardly 7am yet, on the West Coast.

"Okay, listen shorty; I'm only saying this once. I was sent here to guard you. Like it or not, I'm your protector now. Got it?"

Gar looked angry. "I don't need no frickin' protector. I can live all by myself, thank you very much! You can tell whoever gave you this job that it's not necessary. I live by myself."

Raven felt a vein pulsing in her temple. "Fine. You know what? _Fine. _See if I care! I don't have to give a shit about you, and yet I do!"

"Well, no one asked you to!"

Raven felt ready to either leave Gar to fend on his own, or just knock him unconscious, or throw him out the window. And the sad thing was, now she _really_ didn't care whether he lived or died.

"Garfield?" A male voice came from outside the door. "Get up and get breakfast. Or starve."

All the while, Raven had been locked in a staring contest with the said person. He blinked, and then asked sarcastically, "Would you mind leaving so I could change?"

Raven growled in reply, only to remember that she didn't know squat- she couldn't fly that well yet, and she didn't know the layout of the house.

And jumping out a second story window didn't seem all that appealing to her.

Unbeknownst to her, Gar had already taken his shirt off. And Raven just realized that she was staring at him.

He noticed. "Like what you see?" He said cockily, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Go to hell." And she stormed off, stomping out the door.

She was upset that she couldn't make any noise anymore.

_**

* * *

**_

Once Gar had dressed, he exited the room. He saw what's-her-face leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and a scowl on her face.

If he wasn't so pissed at her, he'd think that she was pretty cute.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" He repeated.

"Aren't you going to show me downstairs?"

He stroked his chin in mock thought, and then retorted, "Nope." He started to walk away.

He thought he could've gotten away with it, except that Raven reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"You're going to. And you're going to do it now."

"_Pushy._" He commented under his breath.

"I heard that."

For a moment, he wondered what Jodi and Mitch were going to do when he walked into the kitchen, accompanied by a girl with purple hair and wings.

And then he remembered that only he could see her.

Along the way, he pointed out the living room, and the staircase. Also, just to annoy that little witch, he also explained the purpose of a flower pot, a stove, and the wheel.

She looked ready to knock him off his feet without a second thought.

_ Good, she's easily annoyed. _

He poured himself a bowl of Froot Loops, and was busily eating away when she asked a question.

"Who are you?"

"'Scuse me, who am I? Are you, like, dense or something? I already told you." He looked strangely at her. "I'm Garfield." He enunciated his name clearly and slowly.

"I know that, you moron. But in school. Social status?"

_ Fool! Weakling! _

…_shut up, you…_

_ FREAK! _

…_stop it…_

"I'm…"

_ I'm lost…_

"I'm the typical bad kid. The rebel."

_ Like hell you are. You're pathetic, a hopeless case! You don't deserve anyone, anything, or time! You don't deserve life! _

Deep inside, Gar felt another piece of him break off and float away into nothingness.

_**

* * *

**_

Raven watched him say his answer.

_ So, the bad kid, huh?_

_ I can deal with that._

"Who are your friends?"

There was no answer.

"Are you deaf or something? I said, do you have any friends?"

"No." The answer was harsh and unexpected.

"No?" Raven echoed, "Come on. You've got to have a friend or two."

"I said," Gar's voice had become dangerous; he was clutching his spoon, "No. I have no friends. Get it thorough that thick skull of yours."

He stood up abruptly, carried his bowl to the sink, and walked silently back to his room.

_ Poor kid. _Some inside of her mind went.

"He's got to have friends." Raven mused aloud.

Raven looked him up and down, from his black shirt, to his baggy black jeans, to his black painted fingernails. He was gothic... just like her.

_ Or is he not lying about that…?_

"Who you talkin' to, Gar?" Mitch had just walked in the room, and was looking at him questioningly.

Raven watched a slight change flit over his face. She surpressed her laughter with difficulty.

_ Score one for the dead girl._

"Nobody." He answered, and shot Raven a glare.

"Sor-reee." She shot back at him.

There was a moment's silence.

"I have to go to school now." Gar announced out of the blue.

"Good." Raven retorted. "Let's go."

"Wait. You're following me to school?"

"Yeah. Do you have a _problem _with that?"

Gar shot a death look at her. "Maybe."

Raven's hand twitched. She wanted nothing more than to punch him. She was wondering how she would ever befriend him in life- because she sure as hell wasn't doing it in death.

_**

* * *

**_

Gar rounded the street corner, with Raven in tow. He was waiting for the bus, and he was already tired of her. She did nothing but insult him, or yell at him… or hate him. He couldn't understand it.

He hoped that Terra would actually hug him today, like she did the day he finally screwed up the courage to ask her out.

_ Terra, don't you care about me anymore? Don't you even notice that I miss you when I sit beside you? Don't you-_

"In case you haven't noticed yet, the bus is here."

Raven's monotone and mocking voice jarred him out of his thoughts. He rolled his eyes at her, and angrily boarded the bus.

The stares.

_ Go ahead and stare at the gothic boy, why don'tcha? Stare at me like I'm not even there. Rip me to pieces, go ahead and try…_

Raven was stuck in the doorway, her wings unable to let her pass. She threw him a look that asked him to help her, but he ignored it and slinked down to the back of the bus.

He could feel her fury mounting.

_ She doesn't care about much. I bet she was the perky, happy, preppy girl in life, without a care in the world. Bet she had loving, caring, undead parents who loved her to death. And I'm freaking jealous of her for that!_

_ But, then again, how did she die? She looks so young and so angry. Maybe she is like me after all…_

_ Yes, you're looking for sympathy again, aren't you? You horrible piece of shit. You're a hopless case, don't you know that?_

He knew they didn't like him, and he had no problem with it. Friends were a waste of time.

No wonder Victor stopped talking to him.

He adjusted his spike collar, as it was choking him at the moment. The bus took off after Kori Anders boarded the bus. She stumbled towards the back.

_ Don't you even _think_ about coming back here._

Unfortunately, she couldn't hear his thoughts.

"Hello, may I please accompany this seat next to you?"

_ What a freaking strange way of talking._

"No."

"I cannot sit here, but the seat is empty yes? There is plenty of room for me."

Gar glared at her, and her face turned frightened.

"I said, you can't sit here. So go away." He repeated in a more dangerous tone.

Kori stumbled over herself in a hurry to get away from him, and mistakenly sat down next to Richard Grayson, the resident pretty rich boy.

Raven had made her way to the back of the bus, and plopped herself down next to Gar.

"You're a real ass, do you know that?"

Gar didn't answer, but only stared out the window.

"Hello, are you listening to me?" A hard poke in the ribs. "You don't have to be that mean. People are going to think you're a cold-hearted person. And you don't want that, believe me."

_ Does she ever stop talking!_

"And I bet you're annoyed, because I can talk to you, but you can't talk to me."

"Oh yeah?" He spoke aloud.

"Hey, freak!" Garth Brooks, in the seat in front of him, turned around and faced him. "Are you talking to yourself again?"

Gar glared back at him, and said some very, very choice words.

Garth only grinned wider, smirking, and turned around.

He chanced a look at Raven. She seemed to be seething with anger, but not at him. She leaned forward, and flicked Garth on the ear, hard.

Garth unconsciously twitched in pain.

_ That's… really cool._

_**

* * *

**_

Raven was bored.

Gar was in his third period class, Algebra II. Since she thought that he couldn't really try anything, she strolled out the door.

Well, more like right through it.

_ This Jinx person… who is she? _

Serena told her that to call on Jinx, but she had no idea how to do that.

_ Alright, let's try this._

"Jinx…" Raven began, not sure of what to say. "Uh… I'd like to talk to you. Please. I'm new at this, and- God, I'm such an idiot. I'm talking to myself. That's it. I've officially lost my mind."

A girl with dyed pink hair came strolling down the hallway, looking for all the world bored out of her mind. She carried a French textbook, but headphones were stuck in her ears.

She stopped beside her, and looked at her.

"Nope. I don't think you're crazy. Not as crazy as me, anyways."

Raven was shocked.

"You- you can see me?"

She nodded. "Yup. I've been sensing your presence all day. You're hanging around Gar, aren't you?"

"Uh huh…" Raven began, looking at her warily. "Are you Jinx?"

She nodded. "Yup. I'm Jinx. Really, my name is Josie Summons, but-" she made a disgusted face, "I don't like that name. So I go by Jinx."

Raven felt a bit relieved. "Can you tell me about Gar?"

Jinx said, "I'd love to, but I'd better get to French before Madomeselle Kierce gives me detention again. But, she will anyway. She doesn't like my pink hair."

Raven nodded stupidly.

"I'll talk to you at lunch, okay?"

Raven nodded again, as Jinx walked away. But then Raven remembered a question she wanted to ask.

"Why can you see me? I thought that only Gar could!"

Jinx turned around. "I'm psychic. I can see demons, ghosts, poletergiests, auras, angels, etc. Gets annoying, but what are you going to do, when you're Heaven's Servant on Earth?"

Jinx opened the door to room 312, and a lady with a French accent began shouting.

In French.

_**

* * *

**_

Reviewer Responses!

**_ gothic goddess 14:_** Thanks so much for your review. I absolutely love your stories, especially that Shrek-ish one. Glad you love it!

**_ Mad Mauser: _**Oh, you've got no idea what's in store, and I guarantee that those questions will be answered to your liking. And thanks for telling me it's not weired. I'm way too critical of my writing.

**_ Jimmy the Gothic Egg: _**-adds points to scoreboard- I can't wait to really get this started, either.

**_ Savi: _**What story supposed to read… or do you mean that I update? Anyways, sorry about not getting back to you about writer's block. The computer ate your email.

**_ Asinine 11: _**Well, I don't know yet. Maybe she'll be able to see the darker side of people. That'd be cool. I don't know if she'll get powers in this story. Maybe.

**_ shadow929: _**Yeah, I will. Yay Jinx! Since she's not in Different, I decided to give her some screen time here. And quite a lot of it, too.

**_ Dude247: _**I'll try to update frequently- but it depends on what my muses want me to do. Or if writer's block takes over.

**_ That-Guy-Over-There: _**Yeah, I know what you're talking about, but you'll just have to wait and see…

**_ The Last: _**Spacing? Okay, I'll check that out. If you stop prodding me to get to work!

**_ Lupine-Spirit: _**Nooo! Not the gnomes! –swings at them with imaginary pen- Back! Back! S'okay if you're Pagan. I have a friend who is an Afist. I don't care.

**_ Darkest Midnight: _**Well, I'm not a week updater… but more like a month updater. I don't get that much time to write, or if I do, I've got writer's block. I like to know that my story rocks!

**_ moonarcher: _**Yay, fans! I'll try and update asap… as soon as humanly possible.

**_ blackmagic111090: _**Are you going Buddist? Or Lutheran… or are you just giving up religion all togther? (Well, after our Confrimation "retreat", so would I…)

**_ iforgetmyname: _**Heh, cool! Opinions, opininions! Wo0t! Sorry, I'm random right now.

**_ DarkSin: _**-munches on cookie- Can I have a sugar cookie next time? You love this plot, you'll love it more…

Thanks so much, and now get to reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

Dancing on Your Grave

Chapter Three

_ Thoughts, unless noted differently._

I do not own the following: Teen Titans, Sprite, Converse shoes (though I have my own pair, woot), White Castle, King Kong, etc, etc…

This chapter was brought to you by The Last and Jimmy the Gothic Egg. Bow down. Now. Last-dear got rid of the version that sucked, and Jimmy brought it back to life.

I am seriously bowing down to you guys now. Don't kill me. I had a really, really, really bad case of writer's block. So, throw vegetables at me, I don't care. Just read it and stick with me, please.

I am 80 sure that preocupação means worry in Portuguese.

* * *

Gar collapsed facedown on the bed once he got home, haphazardly throwing his book bag into some remote corner of his bedroom.

Today really sucked.

He had gotten another homework detention in English. He failed that Bio quiz.

The only thing he was acing was Spanish, thank God…

Raven walked into his room, her shoes making a dull clunking sound.

"Had a bad day?"

Gar picked his face off of the bed, his look saying it all.

"That bad, huh?"

Gar rolled over on his back, and shot a curious look at her.

"Why are you here?"

Raven let out a frustrated snort. She was tired of his relentless questions, his attitude...

"You know what, Gar? I know that you don't like me. You don't have to remind me every forty-five minutes, okay? I get it."

Gar sat up, the look of a fight on his face.

"I'm just_ asking, _for Godssakes. All I want to know is, why me? Why were you assigned to me?"

Raven, noticing that no hostility was in his tone, opened her mouth to answer.

And then she closed it again.

"To tell you the truth… I honestly don't know…"

"It's gotta be pretty damn important if they didn't tell you anything."

Gar whirled around, and exclaimed, "What the hell?"

Jinx was sitting on the sill of his open window, a smug look on her face.

She waved. "Hi, Raven."

Shellshocked, Raven waved back.

"Who the- what the- how the-" Gar was too flustered by Jinx's sudden entrance that he wasn't able to string a coherent sentence together.

"Easy, dude." Jinx jumped off of the sill, and then leaned on the wall. "I mean you no harm." She held up her fingers, "alien-peace-style".

Gar, however, walked up to the window and look out of it.

"How the hell did you get up here? Whadidja do, shimmy up the drainpipe?"

"Pretty much." Jinx said evasively.

Gar shook his head at her. "You're unbelievable."

"Anyway, I'm here because Serena's a little tied up at the moment. Raven, she wants you to meet her by that pine tree there-" Jinx pointed it out "Tonight. Okay?"

Raven nodded. "I'll go."

"And, Gar-" Jinx tossed him a packet of papers "This is our Algebra review."

"Uh… thanks…" Gar said uncertainly.

"Well, I've got to be…" Jinx's voice trailed off, and she stood rooted to the spot. Her pupils dilated, and she began to stare.

She was murmuring in a low, odd voice.

Gar looked at her like she was possessed.

The spell ended as suddenly as it had begun.

Jinx cursed abruptly.

"Crap!" She exclaimed. "Another exorcism! Gah. Sorry, I've got to run."

And with that, Jinx hoisted herself out of the window, and used to drain pipe to her advantage.

She took off, sprinting down the street.

Gar looked at Raven, and said: "Well, I'm hungry. Want to get some pizza?"

* * *

Gar walked up to the counter, ignoring the stares of classmates and customers alike.

"Hey, Boss!" Pat, the man behind the counter, yelled to Gar.

"Hey, Pat!" Gar waved back.

"What you getting today, Boss?"

"Ah, I was thinking two slices, soy cheese. Does that sound good?" Gar drummed his fingers on the countertop.

"Two soy cheese slices, coming right up. Anything else for you, Boss?" Pat grabbed two slices and stuck them in the oven.

"Yeah. A medium Sprite, please." Gar fished the bills out of his pocket.

"Yes, Boss. For here or to go?" Pat smiled at Gar.

"To go. Gotta run."

"Alright. How would you like to pay, Boss?"

Gar smiled to himself. This had become a ritual between the two of them.

"I'd rather not pay, if that's okay with you."

Pat laughed, and said, "Sorry, gotta play by the rules. That's ten-fifty, Boss."

Gar gave him the said amount, and when his food was handed to him he eased his way out of the door.

"'Till next time, Boss!" Pat waved goodbye.

"See ya, Pat!" Gar waved back as best he could.

He ran across the street and into the park, where he grabbed a bench and began to wolf down his pizza.

He looked up, and saw her.

_ So she's my Guardian Angel, huh? _

She held her head up, straining to look for him.

The setting sun set the right angle on her hair, and it glowed a light purple. Sunlight filtered through her wings, giving her a ghostly effect.

_ And they're black? Why are they black, her wings? Did she do something in her life?_

Before he knew what was happening, a sudden thought entered his head.

_ What did she do to deserve me?_

He felt the darkness stir inside of him, brushing gently at the corners of his mind, teasing with him to enter and cause chaos.

"No." He murmured, rubbing at his temples, "Not now… please not now…"

He looked up just in time to see Raven dart across traffic, screaming as she dodged and dived to avoid being hit.

_ Wow, it must be hard to be dead. __She's still alive, but she's not…_

Raven looked up to see Gar looking at her calmly, and she looked right back.

He was so nice in that pizza joint, but why is he such an ass other times?

She walked nearer to Gar, and sat down atop of the table. Their gaze lasted until a bird flew through Raven, frightening her so much that she fell off the table and onto the ground.

_ I just can't get used to being dead_, Raven lamented, and glared at Gar, who was laughing hysterically.

"I'm sorry," He gasped, clutching his sides, "I don't mean to laugh, but you fell, and…" He broke off into peals of laughter again.

When he finally sobered, Raven was sitting with her back to him, arms crossed, and staring the other way.

"C'mon, Rae, I'm sorry."

"Don't call me Rae." Raven said automatically, without thinking about it.

There was silence for a minute.

"Hey, Raven?"

"Mmm?"

"What was your life like?"

Raven stroked a lock of her hair, contemplating the right answer.

"Well, I don't remember my mother. She died when I was two."

Gar was suddenly thankful that he knew his parents.

"And… for as long as I can remember, my father ran a boarding house. People paid monthly rents to live in our house… our large, huge house… in Jersey. There was Malchior and his father Rorek. Malchior is two years older than me."

Raven let out a little laugh, and Gar could detect a hint of sadness in it.

"I had the hugest crush on him when I was about thirteen. And he broke my heart. He used me. Since then, I couldn't stand to look at him. I still can't, even when I'm dead and gone."

She stared off into the distance, her feathers on her wings floating along with the breeze, tickling his cheek.

"And there was this Conrad. He was _obsessed _with comic books, video games, and any movie. And also, TV. Thus, Malchior and I started calling him Control Freak. You know, remote control, comic book freak, get it?"

Gar laughed slightly. "You were good friends with this Malchior person, weren't you?"

A ghost of a smile rested on Raven's face. "Yes, until he used me." Seeing Gar's horrified expression, she quickly said, "Oh, no! Nothing like that!"

"The person you had to be afraid of was this college student. He was studying business. I don't know his real name, except that he was called Slade. He… he was the one you had to watch out for. You couldn't get him mad."

"Did you ever get him mad?"

"No, thank God. But I've seen him yell at Malchior and Conrad hundreds of times. And then, he would turn to me and say, 'Thank you Raven, for being such a good girl… you're Daddy's girl, aren't you?' It was scary."

"But my father…"

Raven's voice had a different tone now.

"He was the dictator. Everything had to be done his way, and exactly the way he wanted it to be done. Nothing was up for discussion. He was an alcoholic, and he could get dangerously angry when he was drunk…"

Raven trailed off into silence.

"Raven? Are you okay?" Gar asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just fine." She turned away from him, and placed her chin in her palm, facing the setting sun.

Gar looked after her, suddenly struck with the strangest urge to gather her in his arms and hold her there for a long, long time.

_ What's happening to me?_

* * *

It was close to midnight.

"Psst, Raven."

Gar snored on, and Raven slept contentedly.

"PSST. Wake up, girlie!"

Raven awoke with a jolt.

Serena's grinning face appeared in front of hers.

Tonight, Serena was dressed like a Marilyn Monroe with long blonde hair. With a gorgeous, flattering short white halterdress, beautiful high heeled shoes, and long white wings, Serena looked quite the angel.

"Five more minutes." Raven mumbled, and dropped her face back into the blanket Gar had lent her.

Serena rolled her eyes, and with a flick of her wrist, Raven was outside before she knew it.

"It's cold!" Raven's teeth chattered, and she hugged herself.

"No, it's not." Serena insisted, "You're dead, you can't feel cold."

"Then why do I have goosebumps all over my flesh?" Raven shot back, her wings folding around her.

Serena raised an eyebrow. "I'll ask Pete, all right? Maybe there's something to this second chance thing we don't know."

Raven nodded.

"Why did I get stuck on the bus like that?"

"It's because you still think you're human sometimes. If you accept the fact that you are dead, then you will be able to faze through things."

_ Can I let go?_

"It's the same for flying." Serena continued, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But just a little different."

_ Why?_

"It's different because you need faith in yourself." Serena looked up at her, and she looked more ghostly than ever before.

Raven nodded.

_ Faith. _

That's all she needed.

She went to turn around to face Serena, but Serena was gone.

"Serena?" Raven whispered, "Where are you?"

There was a soft, barely audible sigh.

"Serena, is that you?" Raven hissed, annoyed now.

Raven walked along the trees, following the direction of the sigh.

She took a sharp corner.

And gasped.

There was a girl with long, blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She was very thin and tall.

She also had her arms wrapped around the neck of some other boy- who was very attractive and dangerous-looking.

"Tara, Tara, Tara…" He whispered, and they both went back to eating each other's faces.

Raven backed up as fast as she could.

"Wait, Xander." Tara suddenly broke their kiss, and looked around. "Do you hear something?"

"No, dear, I don't hear anything." He went to kissing her arm, but Tara insisted.

"And I could've sworn I saw some strange-looking girl."

Raven froze.

She was about to be found out.

_ I'm dead._

Xander rolled his eyes, but let her look behind him.

_ I'll accept it._

Tara's eyes swept overhead, and they were falling towards the tree branches.

_ I'm dead. I'll accept it. I'm dead, okay!_

Tara's eyes fell on Raven just as the latter disappeared.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's go." Xander said, taking her arm.

For a second, Tara looked at Xander as if she'd never seen him before.

Xander stroked her arm, and said, "We have school tomorrow, and you don't want to be looking stoned, do you?"

Tara shook her head slowly, and agreed to be led away.

* * *

Gar woke with his alarm, and found his angel asleep on the roof.

He stuck his head out the window, and whispered her name.

It would absolutely make his morning if she fell off the roof.

To his everlasting disappointment, she opened her eyes calmly.

"Are you following me to school?"

Raven inched her way towards the window. "Nope. I'm taking a day off."

Gar muttered something that sounded like _Thank God._

Raven sent him a death glare, and he held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but the wings made it a little hard to concentrate on algebra."

She merely stared at him and huffily pushed herself through the window. Gar moved out of the way to let her pass.

"Go to eat or get dressed or something. I'll be wherever." Raven sleepily ordered.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?"

"The couch. It's quite comfortable."

Gar stared after her in disbelief as she walked down the stairs without making a sound.

_ She's lucky that she's so damn cute… _He thought furiously, pulling on jeans and Converses.

When Gar looked back up, she was standing near the door.

"Come on, let's go." She turned around, making her way down the stairs.

Gar rolled his eyes.

_ I am really not in the mood for her bossiness today._

He went downstairs, only to find Raven snoozing on the couch.

"Are you skipping school?" He asked her bluntly.

"Does it look like I'm going?" She deadpanned.

Gar shrugged and made it out the door with seconds to spare before the bus.

* * *

As soon as everyone had left the house, Raven got off the couch.

She stood up and started to absentmindedly stroke her wing. Sadness overtook her, with bitterness rising through her despair.

_ As soon as I find Serena again, I'm going to ask her to send me to Jersey. I want to find out what's going on at my house._

She knew that her father was going to walk away without even being accused of her murder. She knew that no one would care enough to speak up, or just be so terrified of Trigon Roth that they would keep quiet.

Raven picked up a pillow and threw it against the couch.

_ No one cares about me enough! I'll just be the freak who died!_

"Cheer up, emo kid!"

Raven jumped. "Jinx?"

Jinx grinned. "Yep. Are you on an unofficial school holiday like I am?"

Raven nodded, still surprised by her sudden entrance. "Sure…"

"Cool." Jinx said, "Let's go."

"Where?"

"I dunno, the boardwalk, the mountains, White Castle, anywhere is game." Jinx gave her a knowing look. "Or we could hitchhike to New Jersey, if you want."

"Who told you where I was from?"

"Serena, uh, accidentally let your actual name slip." Jinx said nonchalantly, studying a strand of pink hair, "I just did the researching on my own."

Raven was officially scared of Jinx.

"Do you have nothing else to do?"

Jinx sent her a sarcastic look. "You mean besides school, exorcising people, and being bossed around by Paradise? A girl's gotta have some fun, you know."

Raven twisted her mouth around. It wasn't like her to apologize. "I'm not good at apologizing, so consider my going with you your apology."

Jinx jumped up. "Finally we can have some fun!"

* * *

Jinx was asleep in the theater.

Of all things, they were watching the new King Kong, and they weren't even paying attention.

Raven looked up at the screen, only half-interested. A bunch of people were screaming and running around.

Now, can you name what other movie that scene is in?

For the sixteenth time in the last twenty minutes, the stoner behind Raven coughed. Raven turned around and glared, only to remember that no one could see her.

To say that she felt stupid would have been an understatement.

He coughed again.

Jinx's foot twitched.

There was a noticeable change in the room. A dull buzzing erupted in Raven's ears, and the darkness around them grew. Jinx rolled over in her sleep, obviously disturbed.

The stoner, still coughing his lungs up, got up shakily and left his seat. He stumbled along the way, holding onto the wall for support.

Raven watched him leave the theater and turn out of sight.

The buzzing went away, and the darkness diminished.

Jinx sat up violently. She turned to Raven.

"Where did he go?" She demanded, clutching her own head. Raven saw that her pupils were dilated again.

"Who?"

"The freaking stoner, who else?"

Raven had no idea what was going on. "Why, do you want some?"

Jinx stood up in a hurry, whispering harshly, "No, because he's got some extra baggage I've got to take care of."

Raven followed her out of the theater and into the blinding hall lights. Jinx's head was slightly titled towards the ceiling.

Jinx paused, taking a deep breath. "This way," She concluded after a few seconds of quiet.

Raven followed on Jinx's heels, only stopping when they reached a custodian's closet.

"Won't we get in trouble? And how do you even know that he's in there?"

Jinx gave her an incredulous look. "Only I'll get in trouble, 'cuz I'm still alive. And, I'll bet you a million dollars that this is where he and his buddies get stoned."

Jinx wrenched open the closet and stepped inside.

The stoner was now on the ground, his cheek resting on a broom.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

The stoner wearily lifted his head. "I'm Cameron." He slurred.

Jinx looked hard into his startling blue eyes as he brushed his shaggy dark brown hair out of his face.

"No. Who are you?"

"I'm Cameron." He repeated a little more forced than the last time.

"I'm giving you one last chance," Jinx breathed dangerously, "Who are you?"

Cameron picked himself off the ground. "I am Preocupação," He said in an accented voice.

Jinx lifted an amused eyebrow. "So, you're a Worry Demon. Nice job, pick on the stoner kid."

Preocupação, still in Cameron's body, glared. Jinx quickly switched tactics.

Preocupação rolled his eyes. "I need to drain someone soon or else I'll be gone forever."

Jinx then grinned devilishly. "Bye, Worry."

Jinx threw Cameron down to the floor, holding him there. Preocupação looked on in disbelief and anger. He yelled in Portuguese, but Jinx wasn't listening. As Raven listened closer, she realized that Jinx was speaking in Latin.

Cameron's body began to convulse, and his voice was layered with Preocupação's. Jinx's hands and eyes were glowing pink. Jinx held the thrashing teenager down.

Cameron gave one final yell, and Raven could barely see a mist leaking out of him.

Preocupação attempted to make a break for it. "Not so fast, buddy," Jinx growled, her eyes still a bright pink.

Jinx's hands continued to glow to a blindingly bright pink, as the demon writhed and screamed in a demonic-sounding language.

As soon as the demon was gone, Jinx gasped for air.

Raven rushed to her. "Are you alright?"

Jinx grinned. "I didn't even break a sweat. I've exorcised worse demons than that."

Cameron groaned and stirred. He looked up, his eyes widening. "That must be some really good shit Ed has…"

Jinx rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Every time you and your buddies get high, you're susceptible to demons. Just remember that, okay?"

"Demons? You mean like Satan and shit?"

"Cameron, you're a really good writer. So stop wasting away and do something with your life."

Jinx turned on her heel. Neither of themgot far before Serena came walking out of the King Kong theater.

Her hair was wiry red, black clunky glasses framed her green eyes, and she carried a soda.

"Josie Marie Summons, what are you doing here?" Serena demanded.

Jinx slightly flinched, and then retorted with, "I exorcized another worry demon, Serena. It's gone now."

Serena's peeved expression twitched. "Good, but I want your butt in school for the rest of January, you hear?"

"I hear." Jinx groaned.

"Oh, Raven? Your wake starts tomorrow, okay? You, Jinx and Gar'll be there." Serena walked away from them, walking behind a pole. She never reappeared.

Jinx looked at Raven. "Serena never did tell us how to spend the rest of the day, you know."

Raven looked back at her, a smile spreading across her features. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jinx and Raven quickly, and went off to terrorize the bowling alley.

* * *

Reviewers…

** Gothic** **goddess** **14:** Hee, I can't wait either.

** The** **Last:** I fixed that little Raven problem, right? Gar will be fun to mess with, the little emo kid…

** Silent** **Murderess:** -blushes- Your comment made my day.

** AlyRaven:** It's actually going to have echoes of that story. I loved the Wish List.

** shadow292:** Uh, writer's block much? Don't kill me…

** Jimmy the Gothic Egg:** Most certainly.

** moonarcher:** Well, they all know of each other. Whether or not I drag them into this is a different story.

** iforgetmyname:** Yeah, at least I think I do…

** Mad Mauser:** Do you want to know the truth? I don't even know. We're going to have fun with Raven's life, yes we are…

** crazybritoutforevange: **Not as soon as I would have hoped, but I'm going to work my ass off to get this one going.

** Dove Parker Roth: **Thanks for the review!

** romancejunkie: **Heh, will you be willing to wait for more?

** ggladecease: **-sweatdrops- Uh, sorry for the wait…

** cherry2hill: **-grins- Thanks!

** Spirit-of-the-Lupine: **The gnomes are already staring over my shoulder, thank you very much.

** Masked Solider: **Thanks for reading. How's yours going? When am I going to get a sneak preview, huh:)

** IGAF-kun: **Nope. This is pure AU. I dunno if I'll do something a bit green about him, though.

** ryuu: **Yes, I'll update…

** Stars-Eclisped: **I will as long as you keep reviewing.

** soaring-bright-flame: **Sorry for the wait!

** Jessemudflap**: -bows down- Thank you thank you thank you thank you for reviewing.

** xXBaby05XxBBRJE06: **I'll try and update soon…

Thanks for reading this chapter. I'm sure Jimmy the Gothic Egg will bother me at every instance she gets to get me to write this story. (Right, Jimmy?)

Please review, it makes the clouds go away… (I need sugar, stat)


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